Self Inflicted Wounds
by AkaiitE
Summary: The countries of Kinmoku and Ginoukoku are at war. Trying to build up enough power to finally defeat their enemies, Ginoukoku is negotiating a alliance with their neighbour, Kessho. Three assasins are sent to prevent this from happening... see inside!
1. Info

**Self-Inflicted Wounds**

The countries of Kinmoku and Ginoukoku have been at war for three generations. Ginoukoku's King has been negotiating an alliance with a smaller country, Kessho, over the course of the last few years, and finally the alliance is starting to take form. The alliance would mean enough resources for Ginoukoku to win the war once and for all.

Kinmoku has known that this alliance was in the making and is only now making their move, sending their three best assassins to sabotage the alliance, no matter what the cost.

Princess Usagi of Ginoukoku is to be married off the Prince Endyimon of Kessho to finalize the alliance and the Kinmoku assassins are sent to destroy all chance of this happening.

Usagi X Seiya

**A/N: This is a A/U fic that I've been toying with for a while. I might change a lot of stuff over the course of writing. I'm rating it "M" because this is going to be a story about adult people, doing adult things. I hope you enjoy ^^**

**PS. Check me out on DeviantART (darkprincess3285), Twitter (StarFighter372), and YouTube (darkprincess3285) ^^**

**I don't own any of the characters, however the story line is mine =)**


	2. Prologue: Beast of Burden

**Self-Inflicted Wounds **

**Prologue: Beast of Burden**

It was a night like any other in the country of Kessho. The sky was a velvety black, speckled with thousand of twinkling stars. The full moon was high in the sky, lighting the barren, rolling fields that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The air was cool and humid. The country, although very large had nothing but fields of grain and cattle, although this was the reason it was being targeted.

What made this night different wasn't the strange easterly wind that swept across the plains, nor was it the lack of nocturnal animals that usually filled the field as they scurried to their activities. What made tonight different was the three figures running stealthily through the open field towards the distant, walled in village in the distance. Leading the three figures was a tall, slender man who was clad in dark, worn leather and heavy leather boots that covered most of his calf. As he ran through the night his black hair trailed out behind him in its mid-back length ponytail. The two men that followed him were similarly dressed, with hair styled in the same long ponytail. One was even taller than the leading man, while the other was significantly shorter.

Their light foot beats was the only sound that gave away their presence in Kessho. Nobody in the sleepy village would even suspect what was coming. The peace the country had been working so hard to maintain ever since the start of the war was going to come to an end, by the hands of the three men.

As they crested the last hill outside of the capital of Kessho, the three men stopped, gazing down at their destination. They had made good time, it was a few hours until sunrise, which gave them plenty of time to get into the fortress and complete their assigned task.

The leading man examined the area around the main entrance of the fortress. His cerulean eyes scanning and not missing even the smallest movement.

"Get ready," his command issued from the corner of his mouth as he crouched low, preparing to run for the wall when the time seemed right. It had taken weeks of preparation and diligent study to get to this moment. Now that they were here he could feel the excitement of the hunt filling every cell in his body. He shot a glance at both of his companions from under the mess of hair that had settled over his eyes in the absence of the wind. The taller of the two met his gaze with his stern violet eyes. He nodded in acknowledgment. Turning to the shorter man, the moon light glinting off his silver hair, a fierceness in his eyes that sent waves of fear through the other men, they knew it was time to strike.

Quickly and silently as hawks gliding over an empty field, the three men dashed to the outer wall of the fortress. Before the guards had time to turn around and see the three, they had already pressed their backs against the wall and were edging around to the place where they knew was a weak point in the structure.

With a grace rarely seen, the men scaled the wall in a few short leaps and bounds. They were on the other side long before anyone could have seen their flash of movement. Like thieves, they skirted around the buildings, hiding in their shadows, taking a route in the general direction of the castle in the center of the fortified city.

They ran through the city, undetected. They were like ghosts flitting in and out of the nightmares of the citizens of this city. They reached the castle and carefully edged their way around to the correct location.

"Third window on the right, six floors up," the tall, ebony haired man whispered. The leading man nodded and indicated for the smallest man to start climbing the wall. He was like a cat, finding all of the notches and ledges on the outer wall of the castle. It was obvious from the way he moved that he was unparalleled in the grace it took to scale a wall six stories. His two companions stayed routed in spot, watching as the silver haired man climbed to their targets quarters.

Sweeping his blue eyes over the landscape for any sign of trouble, the man knew that the operation would hard press fail at this point. Half the battle was getting in. Once inside, it was all downhill from there. A smirk played across his lips as the tall man tapped his shoulder to indicate that their companion had made it in to their targets quarters. He tossed a rope out the window which they caught and one after the other, began scaling the wall.

Asleep in the bed in the room was a man they knew was called Kunzite. He was a lean man with long silvery blond hair that fell to the small of his back. From the data they had gathered, they knew that he was the High General in the small Kessho army. He was also the King's most trusted advisor. He was their target because he was the one pushing the alliance with Ginoukoku. They couldn't allow it.

The man with the jet black hair smiled. _Too easy,_ he thought as he moved towards the man. He pulled a small vial out of his boot as he moved towards the sleeping man.

"Plant the evidence," he instructed as he uncorked the bottle. Bringing the bottle up to his nose, he took a whiff of the clear liquid within. There was no scent, which he had expected. Kusuri was tasteless and odourless. It was found exclusively in Ginoukoku. This made it the perfect method to accomplish their task. The smile still playing across his mouth, the man moved the bottle towards the sleeping man. With his free hand, he grabbed the man's jaw gently, forcing it open. Before the target could wake up from his touch, the man poured the contents of the bottle into Kunzite's mouth, and tilted back his head to allow the liquid to drip down the back of his throat. Mission accomplished.

He looked up and nodded at his companions, who in turn nodded back. He noticed the tea pot sitting on the table which had been laced with the drug. He knew the alliance would never happen now. His job was done.

"Right, let's get out of here," he told his companions, "we have other things to do."

The two other men nodded, and they moved towards the open window to leave. They paused, however, when they heard footsteps coming down the hall and voices drifting into the room.

"So the marriage is all set up?" one voice asked. It belonged to a young man. He sounded as if the answer to his question meant a great deal to him.

"Yes, sir, it will take place at the next full moon. Ginoukoku and Kessho's alliance will be iron clad after that," a second voice answer. The voice sounded as if it belonged to a reedy advisor, or someone man who spent more time behind books than in the field. He sounded as if he didn't know the true pains of war.

"That's good," the first man said, although he didn't sound as if the news was good.

"It is your duty," the second man replied.

"I know," he answered. The voices moved down the corridor, and their words were drowned by the thick stone walls.

"Shit," the man with the black hair swore.

"What?"

"Our job here isn't finished," he answered. "Send Kinmoku a letter, tell them that we will break this alliance, no matter the cost."

The silver haired man nodded.

"Of course."


	3. Chapter 1: Birth Right

**Self-Inflicted Wounds**

**Chapter 1: Birth Right**

The princess stood on the terrace, her piercing blue eyes examining the sweeping landscape of Ginoukoku. Many people said that this country was the most beautiful of them all. But now as she looked out at the endless expanse of rolling hills, the breath taking mountain scene off in the distance, and the crashing waves on the far south coast, she felt that this country was ugly. For as long as she could remember she had only known the hate that her country felt for their neighbor to the north, Kinmoku. That hate had turned her country into a place of sadness, fear, and hatred, not a place of peaceful loving like she had once been foolish enough to imagine her country to be.

It made her want to scream, and rip out her golden hair in frustration. She couldn't even understand what lead the two countries to fight so ferociously. They had been fighting for so long that hardly anyone remembered the true reason for the fight anymore. The only thing that mattered anymore was once upon a time someone's great grandfather did wrong to someone else's great grandfather, which had caused fighting to break out, and then a three generation war which showed no signs of stopping.

The wind blew her hair around her face. She hadn't bothered to tie it up in the usual fashion, two buns on the top of her head from which the long ends of her hair had been left free. It was a style that was unique to her, the princess, because no one in the empire dared copy her. This life as a princess could be so dull at times. It was also irritating to have people never want to cross her. People just smiled and agreed with her all the time. They always told her she was beautiful and right, and there wasn't anything that she could do wrong. She wanted someone to tell her no. She wanted to be insulted just once. She let out a sign, and leaned on the banister, watching the last of the sun's rays disappear behind the mountains. A Tear ran down the princess' face as she thought about the war that she couldn't stop and as she thought of her loneliness as the princess of a grand Empire.

However, somewhere deep inside, she knew that she had to be alone. Her only friends were the princesses of the kingdoms her father, the Emperor, controlled. The only problem was, it was rare for her to see them often because they had duties to see to as the princesses of their kingdoms, much like she had. She couldn't befriend commoners because they were like everyone else, treating her as if she was perfect. She couldn't even be friends with the upper class people, like the countesses and the dutchesses, because they were the same again. Worst of all, she knew she could never fall in love because it would only end up breaking her heart in the end.

"Usagi!" a voice called from somewhere behind her. The princess turned around to see Rei, a princess of one of the eight kingdoms her father controlled. The princess leading the pack was a slender woman with black hair that fell to her knees and dark eyes which revealed a great and terrible knowing that no one dared contest. She wore a red velvet dress that showed off her slender figure, but exposed only her collar bones. "Usagi!" she called again, "What are you doing out here, you'll catch your death out here."

Usagi hadn't noticed, but as the sun had begun setting, the pleasant spring warmth had dissipated, and the air around her was chilled. She rubbed her arms to fend off the sudden appearance of goose bumps. Usagi wiped away the tear, trying to hide it from the other princess.

"Rei, I wasn't expecting you to be here," She replied as she turned to face Rei.

"The eight princesses are all here. The Emperor called us all in for some special announcement. I have no idea what it is," Rei explained, then shyly asked, "are you okay?"

"Ye..yeah…" Usagi stumbled over the word. Rei once again showed that she had amazing insight, particularly into Usagi. The lie didn't fool Rei for one moment. She raised an eyebrow in skepticism, and asked again.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm lonely that's all," Usagi confessed, steeping towards Rei. Rei held out her arms, inviting Usagi in for a hug. Usagi let a small smile dance across her lips and she moved into Rei's arms.

"Know that no matter how many mile lie between us, I'm always there for you," Rei whispered.

"I know," Usagi whispered back. Rei pulled the princess inside her quarters and shut the heavy oak doors that lead to the terrace. Despite it being spring, there was a small fire roaring in the fire place in the corner of the room. Once the doors were closed, the room started to feel noticeably warmer and Usagi could feel her fingers start prickling uncomfortably as warmth flooded back into her extremities. Rei directed the princess to the vanity that was tucked in one of the corners, and forced her down into the seat. Usagi did as she was directed, sat with her back straight and her hand folded in her lap.

"I met this handsome man the other day. He was the son of a Count in Kasei," Rei started to tell the princess as she ran a brush through her hair. "He is wonderful. He is so kind." Rei pulled Usagi's hair into its usual style as Usagi responded.

"That's wonderful, Rei," only Usagi didn't sound like she believed that Rei's news about this wonderful, handsome man. Rei picked up on the tone of Usagi's voice and dropped the strand of hair.

"Usagi…" she whispered.

"I'm fine," Usagi replied. It had long been known that Usagi's father planned on one day marrying his daughter off to strengthen diplomatic ties. With the alliance with Kessho in its final stages, Usagi knew that her time was probably up. Usagi could feel the tears rising in her eyes and she tried to hold them back.

"No you're not!" Rei insisted. Usagi turned and looked at her friend. A tear rolled out of her eye and fell into the palm of her hand.

"Rei, I will never know true love," she whispered, mortified. More tears escaped.

"Oh, Usagi!" Rei threw her arms around Usagi as she lost control of her emotion and her tears ran freely.

"I know it is my duty as the princess of this empire, but that doesn't make it any easier," Usagi sobbed.

"It's okay," Rei cooed, trying to calm down the distraught princess.

"… and now, my father has called in all of the princesses for a special announcement. I just know that he's marrying me off…" her words were spilling out, everything she had been holding back since finding out about the meeting earlier that morning.

"Usagi…?" three women had let themselves in the room. Standing in the middle was a tall, lean woman with brown hair pulled haphazardly into a ponytail. She had large green eyes which were filled with confusion and sadness. On her right was a shorter girl with long blond hair that was pulled out of her face and tied back with a red bow. A similar concern was echoed in her bright blue eyes. Finally, the girl on the left was the shortest, with short dark blue hair. For all of her intelligence, her eyes were never hard or spiteful, but as always, kind and soft.

"Makoto, Minako, Ami," Rei muttered. "Usagi is…" Minako pushed the dark hair princess out of her way, and swooped down on Usagi, holding her in her arms, trying to absorb all of the sorrow that Usagi was feeling.

"It's okay, Minako, I am the princess, it's my duty, my birth right as it were. I accepted my fate long ago," Usagi tried to convince Minako, and herself. Minako straightened up, staring down at Usagi with sad confused eyes.

"Usagi…"

"Please, I'm fine," Usagi repeated and stood up, whipping the tears from her eyes. "I have to be strong. We have a meeting to attend." Usagi swept out of the room, her four ladies close on her tail. Usagi held her head up high as she marched through the castle to the throne room, proving to herself, and others, that she was strong enough, and had accepted her fate.

They were almost at the throne room when a voice drifted towards the princess from around a corner. She paused, indicating for the others to do the same. One voice she knew was her fathers, the deep, gentle velvety voice that would lull anyone into a false sense of security, even those who knew better. The other was a voice she had heard only once or twice before, a reedy voice that could belong to only one person.

"Zoisite, I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about," the emperor growled in response to something the ambassador had said.

"I'm talking about Kunzite. He died the night we forged our deal," Zoistie hissed.

"Kunzite?" the emperor asked, his voiced filled with shock.

"Yes, Kunzite. Come to think of it, wasn't he the one that you had convinced enough to convince our king that this alliance was best. It seems you didn't really want this alliance. I think we should just call the whole thing off," Zoisite replied, venom filling his words. Usagi was sure that if they could see his face, an ugly sneer would have formed, making him extremely unappealing.

"I don't understand what you mean!" The emperor snapped, "I didn't have him killed if that's what you're implying."

"You're catching on," Zoisite said with a falsely cheery voice.

"What gives you the audacity to come here and accuse me and my people of murder? Ginoukoku needs this alliance as much as Kessho does," the emperor snarled.

"Do you know what this is?" Zoisite asked. He had obviously pulled something out to show the emperor. Obviously the emperor had answered no, because Zoisite continued, "It's Kusuri. We found this sample in a bottle left in his room. He was obviously poisoned. And correct me if I'm wrong, but this particular drug is unique to your empire, isn't it?"

"It's true that Kusuri is unique to my empire, but who's to say that someone isn't selling it in Kinmoku?"

"That's a very good question. We looked into that. The only place to get Kusuri this pure is inside this city. Nowhere else in your empire can purify it to this level of toxicity. All the counterfeit samples we took would kill in such a small dosage," Zoisite explained.

"Are you suggesting that I planned his assignation? Let me remind you that before Ginoukoku came to Kessho's aide, you were about to be annihilated by Kinmoku. If we pull out now, your country will be reduced to rubble before the year is up," Usagi could hear the vemon in her father's voice as he warned Zoisite. Usagi knew this was no empty threat. It was true that Ginoukoku withdrew their support from Kessho, then the country would be destroyed or invaded by Kinmoku. Kessho's best bet at survival was making an alliance with Ginoukoku.

"Ha! For all I know all of these negotiations we've been having have just been a ploy to get us on your good side, and then you will attack us when we think we are safe," Zoisite commented.

"Why would I agree to have my daughter marry your prince if my plan was to eventually destroy your country?" the emperor snapped. Usagi lost her balance and leaned against a wall. She knew that the reason for this meeting was most likely to announce that she was being married off, but the confirmation didn't make her feel any better about the situation.

"I don't know what kind of relationship you have with you daughter," hissed Zoistie.

"Know this, my daughter is the most important thing to me. It breaks my heart to send her into a loveless marriage, but for the sake of this empire I have no choice!" Usagi felt her heart lift a bit. Her father had never wanted this for her. Standing up straight, Usagi started walking again towards the meeting.

They rounded the corner to see her father, a muscular man with white hair which flowed freely around his square jawed face and sapphire eyes that were narrowed in rage. It was difficult for Usagi to see the rage that contorted her father's face; usually his features were kind and gentle. He was dressed in a white robe that was trimmed with blue. Perched on his head was his crown, which indicated his status as emperor. Around his waist was a golden belt, and hanging at his hip on the belt was a hand and a half sword with a gold wire wrapped hilt and a large sapphire embedded in the pommel. Standing in front of her father was a somewhat shorter man with wavy blonde hair that fell a past his shoulders and was pulled back into a loose pony tail. He was dressed in the common fashion for the high ranking military officials in his country, which included a grey tunic and grey leggings trimmed in green. The green matched the colour of his eyes, which were narrowed in distaste, but Usagi knew that the green was not on his uniform to bring out the colour of his eyes, but to indicate his status as a general and ambassador. He wore knee high black leather boots and a leather belt around his waist that held up an unadorned cutlass.

"Usagi!" her father called as she rounded the corner. Immediately his feature became the normal soft and gentle she was used too. Usagi smiled at her father as she stopped and made a quick curtsy to both him and Zoisite.

"Father, Zoisite, how nice to see you again," she said in her most formal voice.

"It is a pleasure," Zoisite replied, bowing to her and her ladies.

"Is it time already for the meeting?" the emperor asked, walking towards his daughter, and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Yes, sir," Usagi answered. Her father applied some pressure to her shoulder, indicating that he wanted her to move forward. She did so with heavy steps. He brought his face down to her ear and whispered quietly so only she could hear.

"I'm sorry," then straightened up and said in his booming voice, "Right let's go then." He lead the party down the remainder of the corridor in to the throne room where already eight people waited.

In the chairs that had been spaced around the room sat the other four princess of the empire, Haruka, a tall, muscular woman with short cropped blonde hair and dark eyes that betrayed a dark past, Michiru, a beautiful woman who let her blue hair flow freely down her back, her ocean blue eyes scanning the room for any sign of trouble, Setsuna, the princess from the southernmost kingdom in the country had tanned skin and maroon eyes which were hidden under the fringe of her long green hair, and Hotaru, the youngest of the princesses had a round, kind face that was filled mostly by her innocent purple eyes and was framed by her shoulder length, jet black hair.

Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna were all older than Usagi by a few years, and lived in the southern kingdoms of the empire. They rarely came to the castle to visit the emperor on duty, so it was a rare occasion to see any of them. Usagi believed that the three were kind and pure hearted, but she hadn't had much chance to converse with them. She knew their kingdoms faced a number of trails the northern kingdoms did not, such as pirate attacks, and she knew that the three of them had seen battle before, which made them hard and difficult to relate to. Hotaru was the youngest, only thirteen years old, and hadn't come to the capital much. She was still very young and didn't completely understand her role as a princess yet. Usagi had only spoken to her on a few occasions, but felt that somewhere deep inside this young princess was a powerful woman that would lead her kingdom to salvation.

Usagi could see that in the room there were five other chairs, one was positioned directly beside her father's throne presumably it was hers, and the other four were spaced around the room for the other four princesses. Standing behind her chair were three men Usagi had never seen before, but they were all clad in grey tunics, grey leggings, and black knee high boots. Although their uniforms were trimmed with black, which indicated that they were only foot soldiers, they appeared to be more professional than most of the generals Usagi had met over her life. The three men all had the same unadorned cutlass on their hips as Zoisite, and all three of them had ponytails that fell well past the small of their back. The one in the center of the formation was slender but strong looking. He appeared to be the most athletic out of the three. His jet black hair, although tied back, still looked messy on top, were it was cut shorter. He was standing perfectly still, his cold cerulean eyes watching her carefully. Usagi blushed as she felt his eyes sizing her up. He caught her eye and smiled gently, which made her heart start beating widly. Who was this man?

On his left was a shorter man, his green eyes scanning the new arrivals, lingering only for a moment on each face, as if he was memorizing them. His silver hair was also loose on top where strands had been cut shorter than the ponytail that hung down his back. On the right was the tallest of the men, his ebony hair pulled back so none of it escaped the ribbon that held back his hair. His face was slender, but with high cheek bones that gave him a noble look. Two purple eyes were narrowed as he scanned the room like his companion was.

On the left of her father's throne was Artemis, one of her father's advisors and the ambassador to Kessho. He was a short man with long white hair. He was dressed entirely in white. The only colour on his was his dark blue eyes.

Usagi's father sat down in his throne and indicated for Usagi to sit in the chair next to him. As she turned around to sit, she could still feel the man with the dark hair's eyes staring at her. The feeling left her uncomfortable. Who was he and what was he doing here?

They sat in the throne room as they wait for important nobles to arrive. Usagi's father was going to announce in front of everyone her fate, and what that meant for their empire. This meant that she would have to remain composed the entire time. That would be difficult with the strange man behind her, his cold eyes watching her like a hawk.

**A/N: WOW! That was a long chapter for me… sorry it was so boring… =( I hope it gets better… Chapter 2 will be up by tonight. Hopefully =) please review =)**


	4. Chapter 2: Enemy Within

**Self-Inflicted Wounds**

**Chapter 2: Enemy Within**

The man was standing in the throne room behind the throne as he had been instructed. Flanking him was his two companions. They watched with mild interest as four princesses entered the room. From their information, they knew who the four princesses were. Leading the four princesses into the throne room was Haruka of the Tenosei Kingdom, a tall, muscular blonde woman, and Michiru of the Nepuchun kingdom, a somewhat more feminine and petite woman with shoulder length blue hair. The two women walked with their arms linked together. The three men knew that the two women's kingdoms were very close and the two princesses were very close, although no one could confirm how close the two were. Directly behind them was a slightly older princess with long sweeping emerald hair, her ruby eyes carefully scanning the room. They knew that this was Setsuna of the Meiosei Kingdom, a very small kingdom on the southern coast of Ginoukoku. Following a step behind Setsuna was the youngest princess, a small frail looking girl with pale skin and dark hair, Hotaru of Meiosei.

"Looks like your information was correct, Taiki," the man with the dark hair whispered out of the corner of his mouth, his lips barely moving, "Again."

"Of course, Seiya, I've never once been wrong," the tallest man replied, a small smile of pride touching his lips. Shifting his position slightly to get a better look at the four princesses, Seiya could feel the excitement of the hunt building up under the surface. This assignment had by far been the most exciting one the three of them had accepted since becoming the "Three Lights".

"Seiya," the shortest of the men growled quietly.

"What, Yaten?" Seiya asked as his eyes drifted from Michiru to Haruka. Michiru didn't look like much of a threat, in fact she was exactly what you'd expect a princess to be, Haruka however, might pose a problem. She was lean and well built. She probably could have taken out half of the guards that were stationed around the room if she wanted.

"I still think this plan is flawed, what if the ambassador knew who was supposed to be her guard." Yaten voiced his concern.

"I've thought of that, just follow my lead if anything goes amiss," Seiya instructed. Out of the corner of his eye, Seiya saw Yaten nodded in agreement, then start fiddling with the uniform.

"Would you cut that out?" Seiya hissed, knowing it would draw attention to the three of them if any of them looked out of sorts in the uniform. He knew that this plan was flawed. So many things could go wrong; they had never pulled off an undercover mission before; going undercover was part of Taiki's purpose on the squad. It wasn't something either he or Yaten were accustomed to, but that was part of what made this mission so exciting.

_A knock came at his quarter's doors; the knock was so quiet, Seiya almost missed it in the heat of the moment. He stood in the center of his quarters wearing only his leather pants, his bare chest heaving, glistening with sweat. Above his head, held with both of his hands was with unsheathed sword, he had been preparing to bring it down to administer one final blow to the imaginary victim before him. It had long been a habit of his to practice swords play in the evening. It was easier to practice here without the pressure of all the eyes on the practice fields on him. _

_Since becoming the emperor's high assassin, he had been something of a legend in Kinmoku. Rumors of his unheard of talents spread across the country side, but he knew most of it was lies. What made him so spectacular in the eyes of the population were not his own talents, but those he had borrowed from his two companions, Taiki and Yaten. He had the brute strength, the ability to act when others faltered, the leadership skills, but his ability to get in and out of a location undetected was thanks to Yaten's skills at stealth, and his infinite wealth of knowledge came from Taiki, who was the best in the empire at gathering knowledge. The three of them made the "Three Lights". The nickname made Seiya laugh. If anything, they weren't light, they were darkness. They brought on death and despair to their victims. The name came from the fact that the three of them shared the name "Kou" which translated to light from the native tongue of the country. The three of them were only distantly related, but the name had carried down to all of them._

_Slowly, Seiya lowered the sword and looked over to the door, deciding whether or not he had actually heard a knock. He prided himself on his keen senses, but even he couldn't notice everything when he had his guard down. The knock came again._

"_What?" he called over to the door. _

"_Um, sir… the emperor would like to see you in the throne room," came a small voice from the other side of the door. It was probably one of the Esquires who was on duty. Seiya crossed the room and opened the door, the air that came in through the now open door was cool and refreshing on Seiya's hot skin. Sure enough there was a boy, no older than fifteen standing on the other side of the door. He had dark hair and blue eyes, which was common in the empire. As Seiya looked down at the boy, he had a flash of his own childhood. He closed his eyes, fighting off the torrent of memories. _

"_Thank you," Seiya said to the young boy, "I know the way. You are dismissed." _

_The young boy nodded happily and smiled, then ran off down the long corridor. Seiya closed the door again and walked over to where his tunic was thrown over the back of a chair. Using a towel that was hung beside his tunic, he dried off his skin and then pulled on the tunic. The tunic was a soft, dark fabric trimmed in gold. It had a high collar which was made of a similar, but blue, fabric. The sleeves were short, but still came about halfway down his upper arm. It fell just past the bottom of his gluts. Around his waist, he tied a blue sash, and attached the sheath of his sword to it. Finally, he slide the sword into the sheath and turned to check his reflection in the standing mirror. _

_Another consequence of becoming a legend was becoming somewhat vain. Before he had never cared what he looked like, but he has since become very concerned with his appearance. Sighing he left the room, one hand on the pommel of his blade, ready for anything. _

_He walked down the long empty corridors of the palace. Although the majority of what he did was done in the dead of night when none could see or hear him, when he wasn't working, walking through deserted, dimly lit, deserted corridors made him uneasy. He was sure that at every corner there was an enemy, laying in wait for the perfect moment to strike him down. _

_He finally arrived in the throne room to find it almost as deserted as the corridors. The only people were the emperors few guards, a few Esquires, the emperor himself, Taiki and Yaten. The two of them were garbed similarly to him. The only difference between the three of them was the colour of the adornment on the tunic. The colour didn't represent anything in particular, for the three of them, the tunics had been designed with them in mind, and the colour matched the colour of their eyes. Yaten's tunic was accented with a sharp green and Taiki's had a dark purple. _

_The emperor looked haggard and worried. He was a tall, thin man, with a mane of grey hair and hard lines on his face from the years of worry he had endured. He had taken the role of emperor at a young age when his father had been assassinated by Ginoukoku. Since then he had been a clever leader, but power had taken its toll on the man. The worry that crossed his face now didn't make him look any better. In fact he looked even more frail than usual, and that worried Seiya. _

"_Late as always," chortled the emperor, his face breaking out into a wide smile and some of the tension on his face evaporated. _

"_I prefer to say that I'm just on time. Now I don't have to listen to all the preamble," Seiya replied, bowing to the emperor. "What can I do for you, Your Highness?" _

"_Not just you, Seiya, but what the three of you can do," he gestured to Taiki and Yaten, "I've just received the most troubling news. Ginoukoku is in the finalizing stages of working out a treaty with Kessho. If this treaty is to go through, we will lose this war."_

"_Let me guess, Your Highness, you want us to stop this alliance from forming," Seiya projected. _

"_You're sharp, Seiya. I need you to sabotage the negotiations by any means necessary. This needs to be done discreetly and quickly" the emperor smiled. _

"_You can count on us," Seiya replied. Taiki and Yaten nodded. _

"_I know I can," the emperor replied, dissipating more of the tension. The "Three Lights" bowed out of the room, stopping in the corridor outside. _

"_When do we leave?" Yaten asked Seiya. _

"_Immediately. You heard the emperor, it needs to be done quickly." Seiya replied. His companions nodded. "Meet in the stables in one hour. Have everything you will need. Prepare for anything." _

_It didn't take Seiya long to return to his quarters. Everything he knew he would need were it easily accessible places. On the writing desk was his dagger, which he strapped to his leg using a blue fabric the same as his sash. After pulling on a long leather jacket that fell past his knees, he strapped on his greave and bracers. In a wood framed pack, he tucked away other essentials. Finally, he slung on his back a worn leather quiver with an unstrung, unadorned yew bow. _

_He raced down to the stables as quietly as possible. As he came into the stable he saw Taiki already tacking up a tall bay stallion. Seiya knew that the horse had four white socks and a small star on the center of its forehead. Dumping his pack outside the stall next to the one Taiki was in, Seiya looked over the door at the large black stallion. The stallion, unlike the one that Taiki was tacking up was solid black with no other markings. The horse nickered as Seiya slipped into the stall. _

"_Shh… Yoru," Seiya whispered soothingly at the stallion in an attempt to calm it. He took a step towards the horse, his hand outstretched. When his hand came into contact with the side of the horse, he could feel it quivering with anticipation. Seiya smiled, Yoru was the perfect beast; he had never once failed to perform. _

_Taiki and Seiya were just pulling the bridles on their horses when Yaten came running into the stable. His pack was much fuller than either Taiki's or Seiya's, but as much could be expected from Yaten, who was also their chemistry specialist. If ever there was a need to mix up any kind of poison or drug, Yaten was the man to do it. _

"_Took you long enough," Taiki hissed, pulling a strap tight on his pack. _

"_Shut up," Yaten snapped, dumping his own belongings next to the stall on the other side of Seiya. The white stallion in that stall was prancing on the spot, seeing that it's companions were getting tacked up. "You couldn't have at least put his saddle on?" _

"_Nope," Seiya replied, grinning as Yaten struggled to calm the horse down enough to throw the heavy saddle over its back. Seiya sniggered slightly as Yaten let out a cry of pain when the horse stepped on his foot. _

"_It's not funny," he growled. _

"_Yes it is," Seiya responded, waling over to the stall, handing his companion the pack so he culd strap it to the saddle. _

_The moon was already setting when the three men rushed off out of the capital. The three horses galloping in time with each other, their muscles surging as they ran faster and further. Little did they know they were in for the adventure of their life. _

…

_Seiya knew that their plan was perfect. If only they had arrived a day or two sooner, then it might have been successful. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done to reverse the damage caused by an arranged marriage. The emperor had said that this alliance had to be prevented, no matter what. "Use any means necessary". _

_Seiya had already worked out what it was that the three of them had to do. They would have to eliminate the princess of the Ginoukoku empire or the prince of the Kessho kingdom. There was no other answer to their problem. Yaten had already sent a message to the emperor detailing what had happened. Taiki was doing what he did best, gathering information. All that was left was for Seiya to put that information to use and come up with a plan. _

_Yaten and Seiya were sitting at their camp a few miles from the capital of Kessho. Yaten was absent mindedly braiding three twigs together with his long, slender fingers while Seiya was carefully honing the edge of his dagger. The sound of the whet stone scrapping against the steel blade was oddly calming to Seiya. Each stroke was methodical and slow. He closed his eyes and focused on the sound. He let his whole world fall into the rhythm. _

_Off in the distance he heard the thunder of hooves. Seiya looked up and saw Taiki was approaching fast. As he watched his companion advance, Seiya stopped running the stone across the blade and paused. The cessation in the sound of the scrapping caused Yaten to look up from his braided twigs. Taiki had finished his information gathering for the day as was returning to report what he had learnt. He was a bit earlier than Seiya had expected, but Seiya doubted that there was a problem. _

_Taik arrived in the camp they had set up and jumped from his stallions back. He didn't look flustered or panicked, which only affirmed Seiya's assumption that nothing was amiss. A smile broke out on Taiki's face as Seiya stood up. _

"_What did you learn?" Seiya asked. _

"_A great deal," Taiki answered, his smile broadening, "it was far simpler than I anticipated."_

"_Good," Seyia nodded. _

"_It turns out that the prince is a no go," Taiki started, "he's well guarded at all times, as well he is a very strong swords man. So ambushing him when he's out for a ride won't happen, and neither will poisoning him. I'm sure there is a way around all of the defenses around him, but it will be complicated."_

_ Seiya nodded, he would have to look at the facts that Taiki had pulled up in greater detail to completely give up on the idea of eliminating the prince, but they still had another option, and he sensed that Taiki was bursting to tell him what he had dug up on the topic. _

_ "As for the princess?" Seiya asked._

_ "It will be much simpler," Taiki answered, "At first I thought that it would be impossible to get close enough to her. All the whispers suggest that the palace in the Gin kingdom is pretty much impenetrable. It would be impossible to just climb the wall in the dead of night, although it might be possible to sneak in the front gates, but not likely without a good cover story."_

_ "I take it you've found one?" Seiya urged. _

_ "Yes! As part of the agreement for the betrothal, Kessho has to send three guards to Ginoukoku to retrieve the princess to bring her back. These three guards will become her personal guards once she is married to prince Endymion. They are holding a competition tomorrow to determine who the three guards should be. I managed to get us into the competition."_

_ "You are a genius!" cried Seiya, throwing his arms in the air. He understood exactly what Taiki had in mind. They were going to establish themselves in the Kessho government, and take the roles of the princess' guard. They would then have a clear entrance into the palace in Ginmokoku, and then they could deal with the princess however they saw fit._

_ "What kind of competition?" asked Yaten. _

_ "Well that information is confidential," Taiki replied. _

_ "Which means, you got a hold of it,"_

_ "Naturally," Taiki answered, "The competition is a five day event where 13 teams of three are competing. It's essentially a battle to the death to find the best, although there are limitations to prevent unnecessary deaths." Yaten rolled his eyes at the last part. _

_ "13 teams… that means that we will have to eliminate 12 teams," Seiya thought out loud._

_ "Four teams each," Taiki continued the thought. _

_ "We don't need five days," Seiya said, "We'll only need one."_

**A/N: Okay okay! I'm sorry! I KNOW! I wasn't feeling great… and I wanted to watch Naruto and Bleach and Sailor Moon and Full Metal Alchemist… so I got a bit distracted… plus I had… as Richard Castle would say… writers embarrassment. That's when you're so embarrassed by the horrendous drivel that you can't bear to see it on the page… Anyways… then I started writing today… and I got so inspired… so I decided to give you guys a preview into the last few weeks of the "three lights" life… the next chapter is going to be about the competition… hopefully… and then after that I'll get into the main story line… hopefully… who knows… I'm just going where the story takes me! Anyways… I'll try and post the next chapter later tonight or tomorrow… and the next chapter of "The only thing I'll ever need" will be up today or tomorrow… hopefully…**


	5. Chapter 3: Animal

**Self-Inflicted Wounds**

**Chapter 3: Animal**

**Warning: This chapter will contain some graphic violence.**

_ Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten stood with the rest of the participants. They were no longer wearing their Kinmoku tunics they favored, and instead donned the traditional grey tunics of the Kessho military. Seiya felt out of sorts in the rough fabric, but he didn't show it. He took a look around at the other soldiers. Taiki's intel had been correct. Including themselves, there was only 13 teams of three. As he sized up the men he would be competing against, he tried to remain calm. The anticipation was making his blood boil with excitement. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins hot and thick. It wasn't that he wanted to kill these strangers, he wasn't that sinister, it was the chase that got him excited, whether he be the hunter or the hunted. He had grown up in a hostile world where one either fought or died. It had taught him how to allow his senses to take over and give way to his animal side. None of the men around him seemed to pose any real threat. They were all fairly low ranking members of military. Seiya assumed this was because the military was relatively small in this country, and there weren't enough high ranking men to spare._

_ The crowd went quiet when a man walked to the front of the crowd and cleared his throat. Taiki had told them that the man in charge of this contest was Nephrite, another high general of the Kessho military. It was likely that this man would replace Kunzite, but first he had to prove himself. He was a lean man with curly brown hair that came to the small of his back and dark, cold eyes. His grey uniform looked like it had been freshly cleaned and carefully pressed for the occasion, the purple accent on the trim the only colour in the mass of grey and black. _

_ "Welcome," he said to the crowd of men, it was obvious from the way his shoulders were drawn in slightly that he was nervous. It seemed likely to Seiya that Nephrite had probably not done much public speaking. "As you know, this contest is of the upmost importance right now. Our small country is under a great threat from Kinmoku. Ginoukoku is negotiating a treaty as we speak, but one of the terms is the princess. She will become our princess, but if she is to live among us, she needs to be protected by our men. It has been decided that a three man team will become the princess' official guards, and we need to choose which of you are the best men for the job!" _

_ He paused briefly, and looked around as if he expected a cheer, but none came. He cleared his throat again and continued. Seiya let a small smile touch his lips, this man was a fool. _

_ "This contest is a five day test that will take place in the military training grounds to the east of the city, which is just to my left." Nephrite paused and indicated the large wooden gate to his left. The perimeter of the training grounds was fenced in by a stone wall that was over ten feet high. It stretched out with a gentle curve, which told Seiya that the training grounds were huge. Someone could easily get lost inside. "Over the course of the five days, each team will fight against the others in order to survive. The last team standing at the end will be the victors. To prevent an unnecessary death, a few rules have been put in place. Any team may at any point surrender and will then be eliminated from the competition. If any member of any team is unable to continue fighting for any reason: injury, loss of consciousness, or death, then the whole team is disqualified. Each team has been given a flag. If your team surrenders or is disqualified, you are to give up your flag to the team who defeated yours." _

_ "Good," whispered Seiya to Taiki and Yaten, tucking the grey fabric flag into his pocke. "I would hate to have to kill all of these men." Yaten and Taiki smiled. The men closest to the three of them shifted their weight uncomfortably and looked at them through the corner of their eyes. It was clear that they were uneasy with the presence of the three men, but they couldn't really put a finger on why. _

_ "You will begin now!" Nephrite called as the gate slowly opened. The 13 teams gathered around the entrance of the training grounds. Beyond the gate was a forest unlike any Seiya had ever seen in his life. The trees were so thick that he doubted that he could wrap his arms around any of them. The tops of the trees were out of sight. The ground was covered with gnarled roots that were large enough for a full grown man to hide behind without being seen until it was too late. _

_ Seiya took a step forward towards the gate. He could feel his heart racing. Suddenly he was inside the training grounds. He felt trapped, like a wild animal that had been corralled in a pen. As the gate slowly closed behind him, the other teams started separating, gathering their bearings. Sensing that he, Yaten, and Taiki were at a slight disadvantage, not knowing the lay of the land, he indicated a cave off in the distance, hoping the three of them could devise a plan there. _

_ In the safety of the cave, the three turned to each other and crouched. Seiya looked at Yaten and Taiki, they both looked tense, ready to start the hunt. With a smile he told his companions his plan. _

_ "Right," he whispered, "the three of us separate, meet back here at nightfall. Take out as many teams as you can before then. The faster this is over, the sooner we can get on with the real mission." The two nodded in agreement. _

_ "Be careful, Seiya," Yaten told him as he turned to leave the cave. _

_ "I'm always careful," he replied with a solemn smile, "it's you who has to watch out!" _

_ With that, the three of them separated, going off into the dense forest. Seiya climbed the nearest tree, a skill he had never really mastered, but he knew that he would have a better view of the surrounding forest from a higher vantage point. Once up on the higher, thicker branches, he jumped stealthily to the next tree. As he travelled through the forest in this method, he kept one eye carefully scanning the forest floor for members of other team; he kept his ears peeled for the sound of footsteps in the soft forest floor. _

_ It wasn't long before his efforts were rewarded. He had been jumping from tree to tree for less than half an hour when he came across a group of three men, not much younger than him, no older than nineteen. The three men were short, stocky, and lean, obviously swordsmen. They all had blonde hair that was cropped short. With a smile, Seiya jumped from the tree and drew his sword. He landed gracefully in front of the men, his sword tip flashed up to the chin of the man in the center. _

_ "Dead," he whispered. The men froze, fear exuding from every ounce of their being. "You really ought to protect yourselves better." The man who had Seiya's blade pressed against his throat gulped, sweat beading on his forehead. Seiya pressed the sword a little harder into the neck of the man, a small stream of blood oozed from the small wound the sharp blade created. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man on the right's hand inching towards his dagger. Quick as a flash, Seiya drew his own dagger, never taking the sword away from the man, and threw it. The dagger caught the man on the right in the palm and embedded itself in the trunk of the tree right behind him. A howl of pain escaped the man's lips from the pain of having a dagger pierce his hand. The other men in the group betrayed their panic, their eyes full of fear. "Not a smart move."_

_ "Who are you?" the one in the center whispered, his voicing cracking. _

_ "Your worst nightmare," Seiya replied, "now, we can do this the hard way or the easy shaking hands, the man pulled out the grey flag from his pocket and held it out to Seiya. _

_ "Neji! What are you doing?" cried the man whose hand was pinned to the tree. _

_ "Do you want to die?" the man answered, tears filling his eyes. Nobody answered. _

_ "Good, then I'll be taking that," Seiya smirked, grabbing the flag and tucking it in his pocket with the other one. He lowered his sword slightly. "Now, get going." He stepped over to the tree and yanked his dagger out. He examined the blade then wiped it off on the man shirt. "I would get that checked if I were you. You might not lose the use of that hand." The man nodded, then rushed past Seiya. When the three were out of sight, Seiya took a half step to leave the small clearing, but paused when he heard a twig crack. "I almost didn't notice you. You're much better than those three." Seiya crouched, then jumped ten feet into the air, landing on a branch in a tree in front of three men. These three were different from the men he had just encountered. They were somewhat older, with stronger bodies. They didn't have the same innocence that the other three had, but rather they appeared hardened by battle. It wasn't likely that Seiya could simply scare these three. He would have to make his point. _

_ "You're quite talented to have noticed us," one man answered, grinning a blood thirsty smile that sent chills into Seiya's soul. "I don't think I've seen you before. Which division you from?" Remembering the information Taiki had given him, Seiya formed his answer._

_ "I'm from the northern infantry division. I'm a new recruit. Drafted only six weeks ago."_

_ "hmm…fresh meat," a second man sneered. _

_ "You don't have to worry, I'm still a good fight," Seiya replied, bringing his sword to the ready. _

_ "I'm sure you are, but can you win against three well seasoned warriors?" the first man asked, unsheathing his sword, likewise, his two companions pulled out their own blades. The grin on the man's face was terrifying. Without warning the man sprung forward, slashing down at Seiya. Seiya had very little time to react as he brought his sword above his head blocking the blow. Sparks flew at the contact of the two swords. Seiya withdrew his sword and jabbed quickly at the man's open shoulder. The tip of the sword struck the clavicle, snapping it with the force of the bowl. The man's sneer evaporated and turned to shock, however he didn't allow the pain to make him falter. He barred his teeth and tried to strike Seiya on the hip, but Seiya blocked that blow as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Seiya saw the other two men move towards him, their swords flashing with the same murderous intent that shone in their eyes. _

_ "I'm sorry, I can't play with you guys anymore," Seiya growled, spinning away from the first man, thrusting his sword out, impaling the second man in the stomach. The man crumpled as Seiya withdrew the blade and snapped it up to the throat of the third man. The second man lost his balance and toppled from the tree, falling ten feet where he landed on the forest floor with a sickening _splat_. Blood pooled around the man's limp body, his limbs stretching out at odd angles. His companions paused only for a moment in shock of losing their friend. Anger flashed across the first man's face and he renewed his assault. In one shift, fluid motion, Seiya slashed, decapitating the man, his head toppling from his shoulders, out of the tree, down to join the second man. The body stood for a moment before it dropped to its knees and slid sideways of the tree. _

_ "You bastard!" the third man roared, jumping up, his sword above his head, ready to strike. _

_ "Too slow!" Seiya snarled, lifting his blade up so it impaled the man as he came down over Seiya. The man's face was filled with shock as he looked Seiya in the eyes. _

_ "Who are you?" he said weakly._

_ "The Assassin of Kinmoku," Seiya answered, watching as fear spread across the man's features. _

_ "Wh…" the man took a rattling breath, and his eyes went dull. Seiya pulled his sword out of the man's chest, and laid him down in the branches. He quickly searched the man's pockets. No flag. He would have to search the other two._

_ He jumped out of the tree, landing a few feet from the corpses of the two other men. Blood trickled off the end of his sword as he took a step towards the bodies. He looked at the face of the first man. Anger still held on his features, replaying the last moments of the man's life. With a sigh, Seiya bent down and search the pockets of both men, pulling the flag from the decapitated body. He hadn't wanted to kill these men. With so much death around him all the time, it seemed wrong to take more lives. _

…

_ Less than twenty four hours later, Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten emerged from the forest carrying thirteen flags. They had been lucky; they had only had to kill 6 people. Taiki had been forced to take the life of one man who refused to back down, and Yaten had killed two. They left the forest relatively unscathed. Taiki supported a small gash on his check from where one individual had cut him in a hand to hand battle. Nephrite stood in shock as the three men exited the forest holding the thirteen flags. _

_ "You three…" was all he could say. _

_ "I believe that this is enough to prove that the three of us are more than capable of defending our future princess," Seiya replied, handing him the flags. Nephrite only nodded. "When can we expect to leave?" _

_ "As soon as possible, King Endymion will debrief you later today, and then you can be on your way to the palace in Gin," Nephrite answered, still in shock. _

_ "Good. We are eager to meet her highness," Seiya responded with a smiled. _

Seiya's stream of memories was abruptly interrupted as he heard the doors of the throne room thrown open. Six people marched into the room. They were lead by a tall, slender man with white hair and sapphire blue eyes, a man that Seiya knew was the emperor of Ginoukoku. Trailing only a half step behind him was a small man with lush blonde hair. The unpleasant smirk on the second man's face only succeeded in irritating Seiya to no end. From the Grey uniform trimmed in green Seiya knew that the man was Zoisite, the ambassador to Ginoukoku from Kessho. Directly behind him was a woman who made Seiya's heart stop and his breath catch.

She was a petite woman, her slender body wrapped carefully in a soft white gown that had a low, square collar that showed off her strong collar bones. She was of a short stature; she probably came no higher on Seiya than his shoulder. Her silky blonde hair cascaded from two buns on the top of her head. In the center of her small, pale face were two large, gentle, kind, innocent blue eyes. They were like two sapphires in the snow. Those eyes captivated Seiya. Once caught by them, he couldn't look anywhere else. But those beautiful eyes were rimmed in red, which told Seiya she was upset. He studied her face carefully and realized that her carefully composed face was hiding a deep sadness. He doubted there were many in the room that could see past her mask. For a moment, they caught each other's gaze and the woman blushed. Seiya flashed a small smile in her direction, which made her blush deepen. His heart began pounding.

Seiya was so captivated by the woman, he didn't even bother to look at the other four women that trailed behind her. He watched her as she crossed the room, and his heart sank as she took a seat in the chair which he was standing behind. _So this is Princess Usagi,_ he thought, _this is the woman I have set out to kill. _But as he looked down at her, he felt as if he couldn't bear to harm a single hair on her head. He never wanted to see her so sad again; he wanted to know how beautiful she'd be when she smiled.

As the rest of the princesses settled in their thrones around the room, silence fell. The emperor had called this meeting to formally announce the betrothal to Kessho's prince, Endymion IV.

As the room filled with high ranking members of society over the next half hour, Seiya kept a close eye on the princess who was sitting so close to him he could reach out and touch her. His blood was pounding in his ears. An animal was rising inside of him, but it was nothing like the animal he was used to. This animal had no intent to kill.

Finally, when the room was filled with the nobles of the empire, the emperor stood, which caused a hush to fall over the assembled crowd. He held his arms out, as if he were trying to embrace the entire room. He smiled a warm smile.

"My dear friends, welcome. Tonight I have some very important news that will alter the fate of this empire. This may very well be the thing that changes the tides of this unending war we've been fighting with our neighbors to the north. As many of you know, we have been negotiating an alliance with Kessho. Kessho has been an independent kingdom since the formation of the two empires. It holds vast resources that would benefit Ginoukoku greatly. At last, the terms of the alliance have been agreed upon.

Although it breaks my heart, I have agreed to let my daughter, Princess Usagi, marry the prince of Kessho, Endymion. Once they are married, our empire and their country will be bound together by the ties of blood," the king told the room in a booming voice. A collective gasp escaped the lips of everyone in the room as the king announced the information. "My daughter," he turned to Usagi, "I hope you can agree to these terms, and play your part in securing a better future for your empire." Slowly, Usagi stood up.

"I know my duty as the daughter of the emperor of this empire. I accept this duty and hope that it is enough." She said to the room. Her voice was sad, but determined. Seiya felt his heart break for the girl. She didn't want to be a part of this. _Although she doesn't know it, this will lead to her death,_ thought Seiya. The emperor proceeded to explain why Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten were there.

"As part of the agreement, three of Kessho's strongest warriors are becoming Usagi's personal guard. The three of them have proved themselves on many occasions, and I trust them with my daughter's life." Seiya raised his hand slightly, waving at the noble's in the room. He watched as Usagi turned slightly in her chair to look at him out of the corner of her eye. His heart beat became erratic as their eyes met for a moment. _Control yourself,_ he thought,_ you have a mission._ Who was this woman, and why did she make him feel this way?

**A/N: GAH! There you go… I hope it wasn't too gory for you… I don't think it was… anyways… I hope you liked the chapter. RxR =3 pwease**


	6. Chapter 4: In the Line of Duty

**Self-Inflicted Wounds**

**Chapter 4: In the Line of Duty**

The emperor allowed the crowd before him to mutter and gasp as they took in the information their leader had just thrust upon them. Although many of them were probably expecting such an alliance to form, it still came as a shock to many. Over the course of the majority of the war, Ginoukoku had focused on absorbing other kingdoms into its empire, usually by force. Most of the war now seemed to have a focus on dominating the last few free kingdoms and taking over kingdoms from Kinmoku. So to hear that Ginoukoku had agreed to allow Kessho to remain as its own independent kingdom was shocking to many.

The Emperor stepped down from his throne into the babbling crowd. Many of the nobles crowded around their emperor, bombarding him with questions. They wanted to know what had made the emperor make this unlikely move. They wanted to know what he hoped to obtain from this alliance. They wanted to know what consequences existed. Their leader just smiled and answered diplomatically. As Seiya watched the emperor make his rounds, he started noticing similarities he shared with the emperor of Kinmoku.

The two men were dominating. In a room full of people, they were the ones that stood out the most. However, they never used this dominance in a negative way. They smiled openly, and could assure a crowd no matter what the situation. It dawned on Seiya as he watched the emperor that he was why Ginoukoku had not yet given up on this war.

Usagi stirred in her throne, Seiya noticed her movement out of the corner of his eye. She was obviously uncomfortable with the situation around her. Everything from her stiff, closed off posture to the sad look in her eyes told Seiya exactly what she was thinking. Again he felt his heart break for her. She was being thrown into a loveless marriage to help save her empire. She was torn between duty and desire; between dreams and reality. It made Seiya hate what he was doing even more.

Finally, she slowly rose from her makeshift throne, her long white gown rustling over her soft, pale skin. She gathered up the front of the white gown, revealing two small feet, carefully tied in white shoes that matched the dress. With cautious footing, she stepped down from the slightly raised platform that the throne was placed on. Seiya motioned to Taiki and Yaten to move around and stick close to the princess as she started floating gracefully into the crowd. Like three shadows, Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten followed the princess, trying to stay aware of any trouble that might come to the princess. _The only danger she's in is the danger from us,_ Seiya thought as he took another step.

"I don't need you," came a voice very suddenly. It was a quiet voice that had a sharp edge to it, but underneath the angry overtones, was a very soft, gentle sound. It was a beautiful voice, like a bird singing in the early spring morning. Seiya turned towards the source of the voice. As he turned away from the crowd, he saw that Usagi had stopped her procession into the crowd, and had turned on her three guards, her beautiful face creased in anger. Although she was glaring daggers, Seiya sensed they weren't directed entirely at him, but rather at her situation. Seiya smiled at the princess, who turned her face away. Dropping into a low bow, Seiya continued to smile.

"Kou Seiya, at your service, My Lady," Seiya announced, lifting his face to make eye contact with the princess, but she was still looking away. He took her small hand in his large, rough hand. T_he hand of a murder, _he thought. For a moment, she looked as if she was going to pull her hand from his grip, but then she let her hand relax in his. He could feel her blood pounding through her veins; finally she turned her eyes towards him. In that moment they held each other's gaze, Seiya could feel his heart going out of control again. Usagi blushed slightly. Seiya brought down his head, and let his lips brush across the top of her smooth skin on the back of her hand. As he pulled his lips away, he let her hand drop back to her side. For a moment, the princess stood dumbfounded.

"I don't need your help," she repeated in a whisper, her startling blue eyes hold his.

"That's where you're wrong, My Lady," Seiya told her, "you may not know this, but as of this moment, you are on a number of hit lists. There are a number of people who would rather see you dead than have you marry Prince Endymion."

"Like who?" she challenged.

"Kinmoku for one," Yaten supplied.

"Rebels from Kessho," added Taiki.

"Even rebels from your own empire," concluded Seiya. As their words hit her, shock filled her face, morphing her features again.

"It's not like a chose this," she whispered, more to herself than to Seiya and the other, dropping her gaze to the floor and hunching her shoulders slightly. _She's shutting everything out_, Seiya realized.

"I know," Seiya comforted her, his hand resting on her shoulder. For a moment, she allowed the contact between them, but shrugged it off. "These are my companions, and the rest of your guard from Kessho," Seiya continued, trying to change the topic and stay on task. "Yaten," he indicated his short, silver hair companion, who dipped his head slightly, "and Taiki," Seiya pointed to his taller companion, who bowed as well. "They are the best at what they do. The three of us will never let any harm come to you."

"I don't need your help," Usagi repeated for a third time.

"I understand this is difficult for you. Not to mention, if you accept us as your guard, you are accepting your future, which you haven't yet. But please understand, our only goal is to keep you safe," Seiya told her, trying a new approach. Usagi turned away again, as if she was trying to block out the truth of Seiya's words.

That was when he heard it. It was so subtle, so quiet, that he almost missed it entirely, yet it was unmistakable. The dull twang of a bow rang in Seiya's ears, followed by the whistle of a shaft cutting through the air. If his senses hadn't been so finely tuned, he might have missed it all together. Turning towards the source of the sound, time started to slow. Seiya's heart started beating in slow, regular beats. His eyes caught sight of it only moments before it was too late.

He didn't know what made him do it. In that moment, nothing else matter. His mission was wiped from his mind. All that mattered was her; all he could see was her. Her gentle blue eyes suspended in suppressed anger, the tenderness of her subtle curves, the silkiness of her pale skin. All he could see was the arrow, soaring towards her; all he could see was the end of her life. It would have been easier to just let it happen, to blame her death on Kessho somehow, and yet he couldn't.

In one swift movement, he grabbed the princess around the waist and pulled her close to his body. He turned so his back was facing the oncoming projectile, and Usagi was well out of harm's way. As the arrow flew passed, Seiya extended his right arm, wrapping his fingers around the moving shaft. Usagi struggled against his hold for a moment, but stopped as her eyes fell on the shaft held in Seiya's grip. He turned in the direction that the arrow was fired, a shadow moved behind the pillars on the far side of the room. Realizing that the attempt had failed, and he had been noticed, the shadow darted out from the cover of the pillars.

"YATEN!" boomed Seiya, his eyes never leaving the retreating figure of the shadow. Yaten nodded and bounded off after the shadow. Screams erupted around Seiya as the room began to realize what had just occurred. All the while Usagi had frozen in his arms, paralyzed with the shock of her near brush with death. When Yaten had disappeared through the now open doors of the throne room, Seiya allowed his eyes to scan the room for more shadows. "Taiki," was all he had to say, and his companion nodded, and retreated to scout out the corners of the room. People in the room started bustling about in panic. Still holding on to Usagi, Seiya dropped his gaze to the shaft held securely in his fist.

"Huh," he grunted as he turned over the arrow.

"What?" whispered Usagi, fear colouring her tone. Seiya frowned at her panic. It made him upset and never want to hear such pain issuing from her again. He lifted his gaze to meet Usagi's piercing blue eyes. For a moment he debated not telling her, but once again he couldn't control himself.

"I'm not familiar with this make," he replied. Usagi's eyes grew quizzical.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well," he answered, "You see the fletching? It's made from crow feathers. Kinmoku military archers use hawk feathers. Also look at the projectile point. It's stone, chert by the looks of it, not steel like in Kinmoku or Ginoukoku. The pattern is all wrong to be from Kinmoku anyways, see how it's lanceolated and fluted. No. This arrow isn't from Kinmoku." Seiya paused as he considered the ramifications of his analysis. Usagi grew rigid in his arms as similar realizations dawned on her. "They aren't behind this. It's likely that this is the work of a rebel inside your empire or from Kessho. However, this was too well planned to be a single rebel. It has to be an organization." At this point, Seiya was thinking out loud, more than explaining the situation to Usagi. His brain was firing on all cylinders as he tried to piece together the scraps of information he had. "I've heard of no such organization inside Kessho… no… this is probably from inside the empire… or somewhere else."

"Where else could it have come from?" Usagi asked in a mortified whisper.

"I don't know," admitted Seiya, returning his gaze to the arrow, examining it closer. There was nothing remarkable about the weapon. It was heavier than the arrows he favoured due to the chert point. He investigated the point a little more closely. It was very well made; the detail involved in making such a fine point would have taken very skilled hands. Seiya racked his brain to try and think of any information he had on lithic projectile points. He didn't know who had the skill or knowledge to make such fine points. The shaft of the arrow was made of a very light, flexible wood that had been very carefully altered to make it straight and smooth. The fletching, as he had told Usagi, was made from crow feathers, which seemed odd to Seiya. Crow feathers weren't hard to find, which told him that the person who made this was probably very poor, or didn't have enough time to search for better feathers for fletching. Judging by the detail in the lithic projectile point and the care taken to the shaft, the latter didn't seem likely, however, lack of money might explain the use of chert over steel or bronze.

Seiya was roused from his ponderings when Yaten returned empty handed. He shook his head as he approached Seiya. As he got closer, Seiya noticed that the silver hair on Yaten's head was sooty and charred at the ends. His face was smeared with dark soot and the edges of his tunic were singed slightly.

"What happened?" demanded Seiya, realizing he was still holding Usagi, but didn't dare let her go until he heard the report.

"I don't know," Yaten replied, his voice hoarse. "I had him cornered; I couldn't see his face, just his eyes. Suddenly, he made a movement and shouted a few words. I was smart enough to jump out of the way just in time. He exploded. Fire was everywhere. His body was charred and unrecognizable by the time I was able to get close enough."

"He's dead?" Seiya asked, his eyes flashing.

"Yes," Yaten confirmed. Taiki approached from across the room, his face somber.

"And?" called Seiya.

"Nothing," he replied. Seiya relaxed his grip on Usagi, but he still felt uneasy. People were still fumbling about, screaming in terror, not realizing the danger had passed. Usagi stood close to Seiya, her arms held close to her chest.

"Don't need my help…" he growled. Usagi looked up at Seiya.

"I may have been mistaken," she admitted. All Seiya did was raise an eyebrow.

…

It was just Yaten and Seiya in the room adjacent to the princess' quarters. A few hours had passed since the announcement, and the princess had stayed holed up in her quarters the entire time. Apart from telling the palace servants where to set up quarters for her new guards and the expectations she had for how they would be treated, she had remained mute. Not even her four close friends entered her quarters after she shut herself in. Understanding her need for privacy, Seiya insisted that one of the three of them should be posted outside her quarters at all times. They had worked out shifts, starting with Taiki. Yaten would take the second shift, and Seiya agreed to take the last. After much debating, he finally convinced Usagi to allow them to ensure the windows were secure.

Now it was just Yaten and Seiya, alone in their small quarters. There was nothing spectacular about the quarters they had been given. It was just large enough to accommodate the three cots they would sleep on, a writing desk in the corner and a large wardrobe. Seiya was stretched out on his cot, which was closest to the window while Yaten sat in the chair at the writing desk, absentmindedly taping the desk with the tip of the quill. The gentle tapping produced by Yaten's anxious fiddling was the only sound in the room.

"Why did you do it?" Yaten asked, breaking the silence, "We could be on our way home now." Seiya didn't answer. He was still wondering himself why he had bothered to save Usagi when his mission was to kill her. The same thought had run through his head a million times since he had left the princess' side: _it was the perfect solution! Place the blame on Kessho!_ But no matter how many times he tried to find the reason, none came.

"I don't know," he finally whispered. Yaten growled with anger.

"You're a fucking idiot!" Seiya's eyes flashed and he shot up so he could look Yaten in the eyes.

"You don't think I know that? I just reacted okay? I don't know why!" Seiya snarled.

"I don't have time to hear your excuses!" Yaten replied, standing up, "it's my shift anyways." And with that, Yaten strode across the room, yanked the heavy wooden doors open and slammed it shut behind him. It wasn't long after that when Taiki returned to the room, but Seiya was already pretending to be asleep. He did manage to get a few hours of sleep, dreaming of nothing but Usagi. He dreamt of her beauty, her tenderness, her kindness. Then suddenly the dream turned evil. Flames burst up around her and the happiness in her eyes transformed into the pure terror he had seen in them earlier.

Seiya bolted up, drenched in a cold sweat. It had been years since he'd dreamt of the fire. His eyes darted around the small room, noticing Taiki asleep on the next cot. Nothing else in the room seemed out of place. He pushed the covers off of himself and swung his legs over the side of the cot. He was still fully clothed, save for his feet, from which he had removed his boots. His bare feet hit it ice cold floor, but he ignored the uncomfortable sensation. Burying his face in his hands he tried to fend off the image of the fire engulfing Usagi. He bent over the side of the cot and fumbled in the dark for his boots. Once his hand struck their hard surface, he grabbed them and pulled them on. Standing up, he crossed the room and grabbed his dagger and sword. As he pulled open the door, he buckled on the sword.

Usagi's quarters were just down the corridor from the quarters Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki were given. The rooms were connected by a small door, however, walking around from the outside of the room gave Seiya a better understanding of his surroundings. When Yaten saw him, he nodded and stepped away from the door without making eye contact with Seiya. He swept passed, and returned to their quarters. Seiya, however, took up the post outside the door.

He cracked open her door, the light from the corridor spilling into the large room. Taking one glance up and down the corridor for signs of danger, Seiya slipped into the room. He wanted to ensure that the Princess was still alright he told himself as he crossed the large room and double checked the locks on the large windows. As he reached the doors to the terrace, he pulled back the heavy velvet curtains, letting the light of the full moon leaking in and falling over the princess. Usagi let out a small groan as the light hit her face, but only threw up an arm over her eyes. Seiya stood, stunned. His heart starting beating uncontrollably again, his skin was growing hot, he no longer had conscious control over his body. There he was only a short distance from her. He could reach out and touch her if he wanted. He dropped the curtain and extended his arm. He took one step towards her, then two. He stopped himself as he raised his foot to take a third step. _What are you doing, Seiya?_ He asked himself. _Like fuck if I know!_ He answered himself. _Get out of here. Do the job you threw yourself into today. No backing out now. _He let his hand fall to his side, and he turned on his heel. Marching out of the room, he tried not to pause and look back at her sleeping figure.

After carefully latching the door shut again behind him, Seiya leaned up against the wall, his hand on the pommel of his sword. He let his eyes wander from one end of the corridor to the other. No sign of movement. His ears were strained as he listened for the slightest sound, the rustle of a cloak, the padding of light feet. Nothing. He was alone. Relaxing a little, Seiya let his right hand slip into his pocket and tighten around a star shaped locket. He didn't know if anyone knew about the locket. He had kept it a secret all of these years.

For a moment, he stood there, his hand wrapped around the locket, which sent a peaceful wave through his body, but then just holding it wasn't enough. He pulled it out of his pocket. The locket was gold, about the size of his fist, in the center was a silver circle. He flipped it open with his thumb. Inside was a slowly revolving, silver, crescent moon. A soft melody drifted out from the locket. He closed his eyes and listened. He closed his eyes, and he remembered.

_Seiya was no older than five. He lived in a small village on the northern coast of Kinmoku named Kou. The village was so small it had escaped the noticed of the war ranging around them. It was a peaceful place to live, many wouldn't have known there was a war being fought outside of their sleepy town. In fact, none of the people of Kou were warriors. Most had never used a bow for anything other than hunting game. The village was occupied by the members of the Kou clan, a very small clan that had once been at the center of the kingdom, but had been shunned to the northern outcrops long ago. _

_It was there, on a warm summers evening when Seyia sat with his mother on his bed listening to the locket's song. Seiya looked up at his mother, she was a beautiful woman with long black hair that tumbled down her back in soft graceful curls, and sapphire blue eyes._

"_You're father gave me this locket," she told him, her voice was the kindest voice Seiya had ever known. _

"_Tell me about my father," Seiya asked. He knew the story well, but he loved to hear about his father, the hero, who had died when Seiya was about two. _

"_Oh! He was a wonderful man with strong arms and a gentle smile. He was the kindest man this village knew. Everyone looked up to him." His mother told him, her voice soft and low, "One day a small family from the village was walking on the beaches. There was nothing about the day that suggested that something terrible was going to happen. It was beautiful, the sun was high in the sky, a light breeze rustled the trees. Your father was out hunting." She paused for a moment, then brushed a tear out of her eye. Seiya pretended he didn't see. "Suddenly, a storm rolled in. The sea grew fierce. Waves crashed down on the beach and pulled the young mother and her child into the turbulent waters. Her husband dove in after to save them, but got caught in the swirling waters and was pulled away. Luckily, you father was passing by, and saw what was happening. He dropped everything and dove into the water. He caught hold of the young child. He saw the child to the shore, and went back out to save the parents. Unfortunately, they were caught by and under current and were dragged away." Seiya's mother paused there. The gentle tune of the locket still tinkled from where it sat in Seiya's hand. Seiya knew the rest of the story anyways. His father had died that day. They had found his body washed up on the shore a few miles from the village. Seiya's mother had adopted the orphaned child, a young girl named Rukia. She had dark hair and big bright blue eyes. _

_That's when they heard a crash outside their small house. Screams erupted around the village. Seiya's mother jumped up out of the bed. _

"_What's happening?" Seiya cried, tears filling his eyes. _

"_Seiya," his mother's voice was sharp. "Get Rukia, and hide." His mother left the room then. Seiya followed on her heels, still clutching the locket close to his heart. He and his mother separated at Rukia's door. He entered the room and woke the sleeping child. _

"_What?" she yawned, rubbing her large eyes. _

"_Get up, something is happening. We have to get out of here." Seiya whispered. He grabbed Rukia's hand and the two of them ran for the door. They were too slow. The door had already been wrenched open by a tall man clad in a black tunic and a black mask covering the lower portion of his face. His blood red eyes glinted in the fire light that had erupted outside Rukia's windows with malice. Rukia let out a blood curdling shriek at the sight of the man. Seiya pulled her closer as the man dove towards her to cover her mouth. As his arm extended, Seiya grabbed the muscular flesh of his forearm with his teeth and bit down hard. _

"_FUCK!" the man howled, wrenching his arm free of Seiya's grip, "What the hell, kid?" Seiya didn't answer, but crouched down low and bared his teeth. The man moved more quickly this time, darting towards Seiya and wrapped his arms around the waist of the two children and hoisted them over his shoulder. Kicking, screaming, and pounding his fists into the man's back had no affect as he marched out of the room. As they exited the house through the front door, Seiya saw something reflecting the fire light. He looked closer. It was blood. The blood was pooling out from a body. The body was his mother's. _

_That was the last time he saw his mother, or the village of Kou. _

_All the children, about sixteen, were gathered outside the village. Seiya held Rukia close to him. Two other children were pushed towards him. One was slightly taller than the other, with dark, auburn hair, the other had a long silver mane. _

"_What's happening," the silver hair child whimpered. _

"_I don't know," was all Seiya could say. _

The memories of that night had plagued Seiya his entire life. They had created who he was today. He snapped the locket shut at the same time as he heard the door click shut beside him.

**A/N: sorry it took so long to update… I had a bit of a exam mishap… so I've been studying like my life depended on it =) anyways… I hope you liked the sneak peak into Seiya's past… the idea for the locket being Seiya's was inspired by ~Porcelain-Requiem 's picture on DA… Take it With You… it's quite a beautiful picture. I don't take credit for the idea, just the way I used it! Thanks =)**

**Ps… I wanted to put Mamoru's future to a vote**

**He should:**

**-Just Die! KILL HIM! I HATE HIM!**

**-He can be lonely in a hole for all I care!**

**-Give him an OC to be happy with…. **

**-Setsuna!**

**-Kakyuu**

**-Other (please tell me!)**


End file.
